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Ben Howe

Three tools to educate an uninformed electorate on the fiscal cliff

First up is the “Soak the Rich” tool from our friends at Media Trackers.

This allows you to literally soak a given industry with tax hikes with the click of a button and see the effect on the deficit. A popular misconception is that tax increases could take care of the deficit with great ease. Play around with the tool and you’ll see that is simply not true. Now, if only we could get every player in this debate to play around with it, too, and get more campaigns producing things like this routinely, grabbing useful data while promoting them, and getting more people to share them (education, organization, communication). As has been pointed out numerous times by yelling at walls, increased taxes is a drop of water in the ocean of spending and as always, is based on the assumption that tax increases will result in higher revenues (which we know it won’t).

Second is the Bankrupting America iPhone app released by the fiscal conservative group Public Notice, which provides a constant stream of locally-relevant news about spending and debt to users.

It has added functionality that lets users share examples of wasteful spending with the group by uploading photos or videos, which Public Notice intends to then feature on its website. So, there’s a two-way flow of information that again facilitates education, communication and organization. GOP, take note.

My basic thesis is that we win by getting more people to agree with us (others would have us believe that we win by getting us to agree with more people).

Is this some new strategy or something….?
The most prevalent theme of RedState is if people disagree with the opinions of the ever so sanctimonious front pagers with their shiny little green badges they are booted immediately and then mocked and insulted when they can no longer respond.
It’s like a friggin’ sport over there.
Even a DISQUS down arrow is cause for a banning so please let’s not pretend the RedState is all about getting people to agree.
Agree or be gone.

The list of people not welcome there is quite long and the only acceptable response is “Gee Moe….great diary. You’re aaaawesome”

You cannot keep chasing people away and then wonder later where everyone was on election day.

It seems obvious to me that we would use the tools and media that are capturing the public to a greater and greater degree, but somehow that escaped our Republican overlords who still live in a world where 30 second spots using deep voiced scary people warning of the apocalypse is the best way to educate.

And stop whining about Romney.
You guys didn’t lift a finger to help him and the way RedState attacked so many people who weren’t Rick Perry was shameful.
You boys need to take your share of the blame too.

Being self righteous, sanctimonious, inflexible,rude, arrogant and convinced of your own infallibility is no way to attract people to your cause.